This invention relates to birdhouses, more specifically this invention relates to birdhouses for purple martins.
The purple martin is fast becoming one of the most popular birds in the United States because of its voracious appetite for flying insects such as mosquitoes, flies, beetles, moths, and dragon flies. It has been observed that one purple martin may consume anywhere from 2,000-12,000 mosquitoes per day. Therefore, having several purple martin families in residence can virtually eliminate undesirable insects from the area. In addition to insect control, purple martins are entertaining to watch as they take their food and water on the wing and rear their young. Purple martins have social instincts and prefer to nest in groups in man-made birdhouses having multiple compartments. They are also fastidious and will select only scrupuluously clean nests. Further, it is important that enough nests be made available because purple martins travel in groups and if there is not enough room for all the birds to nest, they will continue to search for a nest that will accommodate the entire group.
The purple martin has many predators, such as squirrels, cats and snakes, thus, it is important that the martin birdhouse be inaccessible to these natural enemies. To that end, adequate protection must be assured by locating their nests high above the ground.
The above characteristics of the purple martin require that their houses have multiple compartments, be easy to clean, be mounted above the ground with relative ease, and be essentially maintenance free.